Til All Are One
by LadyKnightSkye
Summary: Series of oneshots from various Transformers worlds. Some are humorous, some are serious, but all were written for fun. Latest: Spotlight Prowl from the human cop's point of view.
1. Heaven

**_Author's Note:_**This is actually a really, really old one shot, so please forgive some of the awkward writing. I wrote this probably a year and a half ago, so I was still new to the G1 universe. Forgive me if you find anything particularly OOC about Prime. As for the angel . . . yeah. You can also find hints to how I view the idea of the multicontinuity world that is all of Transformers.

_**EDIT**_: _Also, in reply to an annoymous reviewer who pointed out that Cybertronians would have a different heaven and that Optimus was chosen by Primus not God_: When I wrote this, I was not thinking in the terms of Primus versus God. I was thinking - for the purposes of this story alone - that God and Primus were one and the same. The Heaven that Prime is brought to is the level of Heaven specifically for Cybertronians anyway. However, Ri2 had a very good point. Even for the purposes of the story, the idea of God and Primus being synonomous is probably a bit of a stretch, and after being better exposed to the G1 canon, the ideas of Heaven that I used for the story are a bit iffy too. I'm thinking of rewriting it, but I will still keep this original version up. Thanks to Ri2 for the feedback.

**Heaven**

Optimus' optics snapped online.

_What in the world . . ._ The Autobot leader was not looking up to see a dark, gunmetal grey ceiling, but instead was looking out into a field of twinkling stars. "Where . . . Where am I?"

"You, my very annoying friend, are in heaven."

Optimus shifted his head over to see a young woman standing next to him. She was beautiful by a human's standards, even though her face was twisted into a scowl. "Heaven?"

"Yeah, you know the place up in the clouds with cherubs and angels and Jesus playing hacky-sac."

Optimus was sure that if he had them, his eyebrows would have risen to his hairline. "Ah. Why am I here?"

The woman rolled her eyes. "Because you died and you were a good man . . . Mech . . . Thing." She then grinned mirthlessly. "And let's not forget that you're dead. Yeah, that's a biggie."

"Dead?" Optimus asked, puzzled. Then he remembered the battle at Autobot City . . . He remembered Hot Rod trying to help him and then Megatron shooting him. The wound had been fatal.

The woman's features softened. "Yeah, you're dead. The wound you took was nasty."

Optimus took a moment to stare at his hands in despair, and then he looked back over to the woman. "What's your name?"

The woman looked taken aback. "Serene. I'm your guide."

"Guide? Guide to where?"

Serene smiled. "Well, at least you're beginning to ask the right questions."

It was Optimus' turn to be annoyed. "The right questions?"

She nodded. "I'm your guide through death to new life. You're down but not out in your world. Soon, they will need you again, because they will always need you."

Optimus processed that for a few seconds. Something occurred to him. "What did you mean by 'my world'?"

Serene snapped her fingers. "Another right question." She gestured for him to get up and started to lead him toward a gazebo. Optimus realized that he was in a massive garden, but it wasn't a garden as a human would see it. Instead of plants, massive sculptures of metal surrounded the wide pathways. The sculptures were of seemingly random shapes and sizes, but to Optimus' Cybertronian optics they were aesthetically pleasing.

Once inside the large, open air structure, Serene whistled at Optimus. "You mind giving me a lift? Unlike lower angels my Seraph wings aren't really functional."

For the first time Optimus noticed that three pairs of opalescent wings that sprouted from Serene's back. He nodded and bent down to scoop her up in his large metal hands.

"Thanks. Now, what I'm about to show you is probably going to blow your mind, but don't freak out, okay?"

"I won't." he promised.

Serene stood on the tips of his fingers. Optimus dared not to even twitch lest the angel fall.

"Show him the worlds beyond end." she murmured.

Before Optimus' amazed optics, the arches of the gazebo stopped showing him the peaceful starry night and the garden, and started showing him different images. In each image he was looking straight at one mech in particular and he realized with a shock who he was looking at over and over.

It was him.

But it was also not him. He could see in every image a slightly different design, but through all of them a basic structure stayed the same. Broad shoulders, bulky arms and legs, window panes on his chest plates, and a red and blue coloring predominately. He stared at each different Optimus and awe filled him.

"Your world isn't the only one with Transformers in it Optimus, but yours is a hub, spreading out into the fabric of the many universes. In many worlds, you and your people are merely a Saturday morning cartoon, but in many you are the savior of the universe." Serene explained quietly.

Optimus turned to survey another image. The first one had been of him brandishing a glowing sword toward a mech he could only guess was Megatron. The other mech didn't look a thing like the Megatron he knew except for some features of the facial plates. The second image was of a very unique him holding two humans in his hand. It was dark so Optimus could only just make out the flame patterns on his arms, and he watched this alternate universe Optimus pick up a teenage boy who looked a bit like Spike had when he was younger and a human girl.

"But for all this variety there are two absolutes." Serene continued. "First, there are always Autobots and Decepticons in some way, shape, or form."

Optimus observed another him talking to a young girl. The girl couldn't have been any older than Daniel and wore her hair in pigtails. He moved on to another picture which showed him speaking with another mech, but he couldn't place the mech.

"And second, there is always an Optimus and a Megatron."

Her words stopped his perusal of the alternate forms. "Always?"

She nodded. "That's why you need me to guide you. I must teach you quite a bit before I let you back into your world."

"Let me back?"

"Yes. Soon you will be reborn because you are Optimus. And though he has gained a new form, Megatron still survives and will survive the conflict with Unicron."

Optimus stared at the Seraph. "So, as long as one of us exists, so will the other?"

Serene nodded sadly. "Sometimes you and he will take on different forms, but you have fought each other since the dawn of time and will fight until the end. That is why you have never known this place. This is the last resting place for any Transformer from any world, but any Optimus from any world is denied this place."

"How can there be so many of me . . . Us?"

"All of you have slightly different personalities. Slightly different souls. The same goes for all Autobots and Decepticons. In some worlds you fight Megatron until death, in some you ally yourselves. These differences steer where your world goes."

"So, I don't always fight Megatron?"

"No, sometimes you and he are brothers. Sometimes enemies. The only stipulation is that both of you exist together and that there are Autobots and Decepticons. War is not inevitable for all Transformer worlds, but most suffer it."

He digested her words. Serene sighed. "Personally I hate it."

"Hate what?"

"That you and Megs have to be denied heaven because you two are the balance of good and evil."

Optimus didn't ask what that was. He thought he knew very well. "Why us?" he asked instead.

Serene laughed. "You're mighty quick on the uptake. God chose you because both of you are heroes whether you believe so or not."

Optimus glanced back at the picture of him fighting Megatron in that strange other world. "How could Megatron ever be a hero?" he murmured.

"Heroes are people who do great things. Megatron has done terrible things, but to the Decepticons, he is an idol, someone to be like. Heroes aren't always the good guys Optimus. Sometimes they're the evil ones. And sometimes, even the good hero has to do something evil. Good and evil are two sides of the coin, and everyone is a coin."

Optimus stared at the image before him. It was other him fighting with another Megatron. "That's what you have to teach me? That sometimes even the good do evil?"

Serene smiled. "Something like that."

"How long until I go back?"

"Well, it depends. Free will is a tricky thing and it rules what will happen in the future. It may be a couple of years. Until then, take heart. The Autobots will be in good hands." Serene answered.

Optimus pointed at the images. "If I've got some time, may I watch what happens in these worlds?"

"Curious about yourself?"

"Curious about how they lead and if I can learn from them."

Serene smiled broadly and giggled. "Ah, I thought you'd be an annoying charge, but now I see that you're not dimmer than a doornail. Come, I'll show you all the Transformer worlds and you can learn what you like before you must return. Sound good?"

"Sounds like heaven." Optimus chuckled.

"That," Serene said pointing at him, "Was really corny."

Optimus just shook his head. "So, shall we go?"

Serene pointed out to the garden. "Let's go. Don't mind if I hitch a ride do you?"

"Not at all." The large mech strode out of the gazebo, Seraph in hand.


	2. Females Happen

**_Author's Note: _**At the time I wrote this, I had just finished _The Veiled Threat_, so yes, I do know how the whole movie/toyline Arcee versus book/comic Arcee works. Here, I was going off the idea that the three bikes are one being, even though I like the idea of them being separate characters more like how the toyline portrays them.

**Females Happen **

Technical Sargent Raymond Epps was an expert on Autobots, or at least as much of an expert as any human could be. He was currently working with the Autobot Ironhide in the weapons range of NEST's HQ. "So, my wife called last night."

Ironhide wondered for the millionth time why Epps always had to talk while he worked. "Yes?" _So?_

Epps smiled at the robot's gruff manner. He'd realized long ago that Ironhide was not interested in the workings of a human family. He wasn't offended though, he knew that it was just Ironhide's way. But, he still liked to talk while he worked just to gently poke at the robot. "She wanted to tell me all about my youngest daughter's dance recital. She's sending me a video of it."

_Just as long as you don't want me to watch it with you. _Don't get Ironhide wrong, he liked humans, but some aspects of human culture were just too weird for him to take."This 'dance recital' is important?" Ironhide asked as he continued work on a circuit board.

"Yeah, my baby girl loves dancing. She makes her Papa proud every time she takes the stage." Epps replied. "I'm just glad that Monique is a born Army wife. Some men aren't so lucky."

Ironhide looked down at the human. "In what way?"

"Well, they marry women who can't take the fact that their husbands are away for months and in danger." Epps answered.

_Humans never cease to puzzle me. _"Our females would be proud of us when we went out to fight."

Epps dropped his welding pen and yelped when he realized he'd done so. This was the first that he'd heard of female Transformers. "You have girls?!"

Ironhide put down the board he was working on. "Yes, few, but we have them."

Epps suddenly remembered something his wife had said to him while they were still dating. He'd been staring at her ample chest and she had noticed. "Boobs_ happen Ray! Eyes up _here!"

Ironhide looked down at the human when he began to laugh uproariously. It drew the attention of several other NEST people. Lennox and Optimus chose this moment to walk in. Lennox saw his friend bent double. "What's so funny Epps?"

"Boobs . . . Happen." he said between bouts of belly deep laughter. "Boobs happen in any species!"

Lennox cocked an eyebrow and Optimus looked toward Ironhide. The two conversed for a moment in their native language. "**What is so amusing?**"

Ironhide moved a shoulder up and down. "**I do not know. I merely explained that we do have genders and he began to laugh. Something about these 'boobs' that Epps is still muttering about.**"

Optimus looked down at the prostrate sargenant as he explained the joke to Lennox who was blushing and whose face was contorting with laughter. "_**Ratchet, do you have any idea what 'boobs' are?**_"

Ratchet's reply was quick. "_**They are the fleshy protrusions that female humans have on their chests. The technical term is 'breasts'. 'Boobs' is a slang term.**_"

Optimus looked down at Epps. "How do you correlate human female breasts with female Transformers if I might ask?"

Epps' face obviously colored under the Autobot leader's gaze. "Well it's just that we, uh, humans relate being female to, ehem, breasts. So, when Ironhide mentioned that you have females, I thought of something that my wife said a long time ago."

"Ah." Optimus said. "Thank you for the explanation."

Epps turned back to his welding completely embarrassed with himself, and Ironhide shook his head as he resumed his task. Optimus walked away and Lennox trailed along behind the Autobot feeling sympathetic for his friend.

A week later, Arcee arrived. It was a month before Epps could look her in the eye.


	3. Sunrise

**_Author's Notes: _**Written awhile ago for a contest that I don't think was ever judged. When I wrote this it was to have a strong family feeling to it, but it's okay to draw a ProwlxSari vibe since rereading this, I could see where people could draw that conclusion.

**Sunrise**

Prowl contemplated the sky to the east. It had become his habit to watch the sun rise every morning. On Earth, the rising of its star was a beautiful sight and it never repeated itself. He observed it at the same time in the same place every morning, feeling calmed by the tranquility of it. He enjoyed bathing in the first rays of morning. To him, it felt like he was cleansing away the stress of the previous day.

Prowl was of course, a loner by nature. He enjoyed the solitude the roof provided him and the fact that he was usually the first one up everyday - a fact that still amused him when he'd see Optimus walking around sluggishly as his systems booted up for the day ahead. Prowl held respect for his young leader, but he still got a kick out of one-upping him in subtle ways.

However, one morning found him sharing his spot on the roof with a certain inquisitive little girl. "Prowl, what're you doing?"

Prowl looked down at the girl. "You're up awfully early Sari."

She shrugged. "I had a bad dream." she answered quietly.

Prowl nodded and went back to his quiet contemplation. Sari sat beside him, still wondering why he came up onto the roof every morning. "Prowl, you never answered my question."

He glanced down at her and then glanced back up at the rising sun. "I come up here to watch the sun rise."

Sari squinted her eyes to the east. "You watch the sun rise? Why?"

Prowl sighed. "Because I find it peaceful." He glanced down to the girl beside him. "And, I believe many Earth philosophies speak of light's cleansing power. Maybe it will help you shake off your dream."

Sari nodded and sat down beside the Autobot ninja. It wasn't lost on Prowl what a strange pair they must make, he in his confident meditative posture and her huddled beside him, still slightly afraid from her dream. He usually wasn't one to pry into others' affairs, but he did actually like Sari. "What happened in your dream?"

"Promise you won't tell?"

"I promise Sari."

She took a deep breath. "I was running around the factory like I did when Mixmaster and Scrapper barged in that one time, but I was calling for my dad. I could hear his voice but I couldn't find him. I looked all over."

Prowl was gazing at the dramatic reds, pinks, and yellows of the dawn sky, but his attention was aimed at Sari. "Go on."

"Well, then I heard Bumblebee calling my name. I tried to find him and my dad, but I just kept running in circles. Then I heard Optimus start calling me, and then Bulkhead, and then you, and then Ratchet, but I couldn't find any of you. I was so scared and so alone."

Prowl nodded. "You are afraid we'll leave you."

Sari nodded and sniffed. "You guys are all I have left. If we can't find my dad . . ."

"We'll find him Sari."

Sari sniffed again. "I don't want to be alone Prowl."

"I know Sari. No one likes to be alone."

She gave him a puzzled look. "But you like to be alone all the time."

"Yes, I like my solitude, but in a way I am not alone. I know that when I choose I still have you and the rest of the team as my friends to come back to. The loneliness you are afraid of is when you don't even have that hope. Trust me, I wouldn't like being alone without a friend in the world either."

Sari was silent for a moment. She was staring at the colorful sky before her. "Prowl, thanks."

"You're welcome Sari."

Prowl's gentle words were the last sound heard on the roof for quite awhile. It wasn't until Bumblebee came looking for Sari to fetch her for breakfast that the serenity of the roof was broken. He walked up to find Prowl in his customary meditation position, but Sari was curled up beside him, fast asleep. The early morning sun bathed her peaceful face and a small smile of contentment graced her features.

Bumblebee looked expectantly at Prowl, but the motorcycle touched a finger to his lips. "Let her sleep. She had a rough night."

Bumblebee nodded. "Well, we've got breakfast whenever she wakes up. I'll tell Bulkhead to put it up for now."

Prowl nodded in return and went back to his meditation. Fortunately, there were no emergencies so that he could sit vigil over Sari's sleeping form. It was close to noon when the little girl woke. She blinked her eyes and looked to the sun. It was high in the sky. She worried for a moment about sunburn but Prowl's hand had formed an impromptu tent for her.

"Prowl, how long have I been asleep?"

He took away his hand. "A few hours."

Sari nodded and stretched. Her stomach growled loudly, reminding her that she hadn't eaten in over twelve hours. She smiled sweetly up at Prowl and walked toward the roof door. Halfway there she stopped and glanced back. "Hey Prowl?"

"Yes Sari?"

"Can I come watch the sun rise with you tomorrow?"

Prowl smiled at her and nodded.


	4. The Question

**_Author's Notes: _**Just a silly little one shot that I thought up after watching some of G1 with a friend of mine. This is not meant to be serious at all, but just a lil bit of fluff. Enjoy!

* * *

**The Question**

No Autobot knows who first asked the question. It should have been a simple, straightforward answer, but no one had that straightforward answer, so the question remained unanswered for vorns. There was plenty of speculation, and the guesses ranged from logical to farfetched. Each Autobot had his or her version of the truth, but to their knowledge only two Autobots in the entire universe had the real answer they sought.

What exactly was underneath Optimus Prime's facemask?

They called it the Unanswered Question.

* * *

Spike smiled at Carly. "I think you'll like Raoul. He's a nice guy once you get past all the street punk stuff."

Carly's returned smile was stiff. "If you say so. And you've already told me that Astoria takes getting used to."

Spike grimaced at the memory of Powerglide's human girlfriend. "Oh yeah."

The two young humans were standing in the cleared area just outside of the Ark's main hatch. They were waiting for Tracks and Powerglide to drop off the newest members of the Honorary Autobots, (as Sparkplug had taken to calling the kids) Raoul and Astoria. Raoul's use was in his knowledge of the urban underground and Astoria's fortune and business connections were invaluable to the Autobot cause. Chip was being brought by Bumblebee, and they were due to arrive with the others.

Carly's eyes brightened when she saw a familiar yellow shape. "There's Bumblebee and Chip!"

The yellow Bug stopped in front of them and Chip rolled out. One of the things he loved about the Autobots was their ability to accommodate his wheelchair easily. "Hi guys! The newbies here yet?"

"Nah, we're still waiting." Spike answered cheerily. "But they should be here soon."

It was at that moment that they heard the roar of a familiar jet engine. Powerglide swooped down and landed not far from them. Astoria climbed nimbly down from his cockpit and gave the assembled humans and Autobots a big smile. "Hi! I'm Astoria Carlton Ritz!"

She held out her hand and Chip accepted it. "Chip Chase."

Astoria glanced over at Carly. "Carly. Nice to meet you Astoria."

Astoria nodded. "So you must be Spike's girl! You've got yourself a good catch." she said with a wink.

Carly blushed and giggled. Spike looked vaguely uncomfortable while Bee and Chip laughed. They then heard the approach of another car. Tracks moseyed into the clearing, and the newest human jumped out of the passenger seat. "Man Tracks, I coulda run faster than you move."

"I didn't see you complaining on the way here." came the faintly upper crust voice of the Autobot. He transformed and nodded at the other humans and Autobots.

Raoul walked over to the group of humans. It was not lost onto any of them that he was possibly the oldest one there. He didn't know if he liked the whole idea of getting together with the other kids who helped out the Autobots, but after this chick Carly's nicely worded letter, he was curious to meet the others like him who had been adopted by an Autobot. "So, which one of you is Carly?"

The pretty blonde girl stepped forward. "Hello! You must be Raoul."

He grinned. "Yeah, that's me." He shook her hand and then turned to the other three. "Hi." he said as he took each of their hands in turn.

The five human children were still taking each other's measure when they all moved over to the area where Carly had set up a picnic. They sat down in a loose circle with Chip settled in his wheelchair next to where Raoul was perched on a rock. They were making inane small talk when Optimus Prime walked outside and spotted them.

"I'm glad to see all of you enjoying yourselves." he said. "It is nice to see you all acquainted."

"Yeah, it's pretty cool." Raoul said.

Spike laughed. "Yeah."

"Well, I will have to see you later." Optimus said. "There is something that requires my attention."

"Alright Optimus." Chip said.

"Be safe!" Carly called after him.

"I will!" Optimus said with a chuckle as he transformed.

The kids watched Optimus drive off in silence. It was Raoul who finally broke it. "You guys ever wonder what's underneath his mask?"

"What?" Astoria asked with a dainty sniff.

"What's underneath the Big Guy's mask! I can't help but wonder, ya know?"

The Autobot escorts gave each other looks. "Well, the thing is Raoul, no one knows." Tracks replied.

"We Autobots have been asking ourselves that question for years." Powerglide agreed.

The humans shared looks of disbelief. "He's never taken it off?" Astoria asked.

"Nope." Bumblebee answered. "We've seen Wheeljack without his, but no one's ever seen Prime without his."

"Well, except for Elita One." Tracks pointed out.

"Who?" Chip asked.

The Autobots realized that no one had ever told the humans about the lady Autobots. "Elita One is Optimus Prime's mate. She's a real nice lady." Bumblebee explained.

"She's also probably the only one to ever see Optimus without his mask." Powerglide added.

The five humans' jaws dropped. "There are girl Autobots?" Astoria asked.

"Yeah. There are quite a few actually." Tracks answered.

"There's Elita, Chromia, Arcee, Moonracer, Firestar . . ." Bee said.

"Ah Moonracer. I miss her." Powerglide stated.

Astoria turned on him. "What?!"

He realized his mistake. "Not what you think! She was my old partner back when we were on Cybertron!"

"That better be all that she is." Astoria growled.

"Settle down Astoria, last I heard Moonracer was head over heels for Prowl." Bumblebee confided with a snicker.

The humans didn't know this Moonracer, but they knew Prowl, and the idea of him having a lady friend made them giggle.

"So, what do you think is under the mask?" Carly asked Bee.

"I dunno. I always thought it was just a fashion choice." Bee said.

"I think it's because he's hiding a scar." Tracks put in.

Powerglide shook his head. "Nah, it's totally because he wants to look cool."

Spike wrinkled his nose. "So, do any of the other Autobots have ideas?"

"Really, bots tend to fall into one of three schools of thought: because he's hiding a scar, because he likes it, or because he's making a statement." Tracks explained.

"Making a statement?" Astoria asked.

"You know, fashion statement, trying to scare Decepticons, stuff like that." Powerglide explained.

Raoul nodded. "I think it's because he's making a statement. Scare the Decepticons with the expressionless mask."

"Nah, his eyes give him away all the time." Chip disagreed. "I think it's because he just likes it a lot. Maybe it's even welded on and he can't take it off."

"Totally to cover up a scar." Astoria stated. "He could be that vain."

Carly shook her head. "I agree with Chip. Spike?"

"I'm with Raoul. He would want to intimidate some Decepti-creeps!"

The humans were still embroiled in their friendly bickering when Optimus arrived back on base. The other Autobots barely gave him a passing glance, but then they did a double take. Optimus Prime was being escorted by a pink Corvette. "Prime, who's this?" Bee asked.

Optimus transformed, as did the Corvette. The humans were confronted with what had to be a female Transformer. Her shape was markedly different from a male's and her face was much more feminine. "Hello Bumblebee, Tracks, Powerglide. It has been a long time."

"Elita One!" Bee cried. "Good to see ya!"

"Elita! What are you doing here on Earth?" Tracks said.

The humans all stood and followed Bee over to where Optimus and Elita were standing. Optimus gestured to them. "Elita, meet our human allies, Spike, Chip, Carly, Astoria, and Raoul."

Elita knelt down. "Hello, I am Elita One."

Spike stepped forward. "Hi! Bee was just telling us about you!"

Elita smiled at the yellow Bug. "He was?"

"Yeah, he said you were Optimus' mate." Carly spoke up.

Elita laughed and stood back up. "I am." she stated and took Optimus' hand.

Astoria and Carly cooed while the boys looked uncomfortable. Raoul stared at the two of them for a moment before deciding to just go ahead with what he was planning. "Hey, Prime, we were also talking about something else."

"Yes, Raoul?"

"What's underneath your mask?"

Every soul in the clearing stopped breathing, and those that didn't breathe in the first place froze. All except Elita, Optimus, and Raoul. "You wish to know what is underneath my mask?"

"Yeah."

Optimus looked over at Elita and she smiled. Optimus then detached his mask from his helm.

Optimus' face was unscarred, and it was as handsome a face as a Cybertronian could have. His upper lip was slightly fuller than his bottom, and his face had the sharpness of age to it. "Why do you wear your mask all the time?" Raoul asked. "Bee said that no one ever sees you without it."

Optimus shrugged. "I've never seen reason to take it off except to consume Energon, and I usually do that before recharge. Although, several Autobots have seen me without my mask."

"Who?" Raoul asked.

"Elita, Prowl, and Jazz. Ironhide has seen me. So has Ratchet."

"Then why didn't they tell anyone?" Tracks asked.

Elita laughed. "I believe none of us have ever seen the need to."

Raoul nodded. "Okay, thanks for satisfyin' my curiosity."

"It was my pleasure Raoul. Now if you'll excuse me, Elita and I need to go talk to Prowl about something." Prime said as he turned. Elita nodded to them, and the couple walked inside the Ark.

This left the humans and the small group of Autobots to stare after them. None of them really knew what to say to that. "Well, I guess we finally know what's under there." Bee murmured.

"Why didn't anyone ever do that before?" Astoria asked.

"Do what?" Powerglide retorted.

"Just ask."

The Autobots shared looks, each one feeling more like a complete dupe than the others. "Uh . . ." Bee said.

"I guess no one ever had the courage to." Tracks muttered.

The kids laughed long and hard at the three embarrassed robots. In the Ark, Optimus Prime and Elita were chuckling for an entirely different reason. "Did you see Tracks' face when Raoul asked?" Elita snickered.

Optimus chuckled. "As the humans say, if I had a dollar for every time one of the Autobots finally asks me the Unanswered Question . . ."


	5. Spotlight: Officer Murphy

_Author's Note: So, I fell in love with Spotlight: Prowl and decided to tell the climax of the story from the perspective of Prowl's cop driver (as he is called over on TF Wiki). I've named him Officer Daniel Murphy (brownie points to whoever gets where his names come from), and I admit to taking some liberties with how much information the humans have and how much Skywatch would share with local law enforcement. Anyway, enjoy!_

**Continuity: **IDW G1

**Featured Characters: **Prowl; Prowl's cop driver (Officer Murphy)

**Pairings:** None

**Warnings:** Mild language

* * *

_**Spotlight:**_** Officer Murphy **

Monday mornings were the pits. It always amazed Officer Daniel Murphy how some things never changed even though the rest of the world seemed to. He stood surveying the site that was being cleared for reconstruction, and lazily hummed a tune while watching two construction workers hauling away a giant, robotic hand. The hand still held a gun, but Officer Murphy didn't think that they would mess with it until Skywatch had gotten there to take it.

He thought wrong.

The blast caught him off guard. He turned wild-eyed and watched in utter horror as a newly reconstructed building came crumbling down - right on top of a young girl. "Oh God . . ." he breathed, convinced he was about to watch the girl die.

Out of the corner of his eye he detected movement. He whipped his head around and watched in utter awe and fear as a robot ran past him and pushed the girl out of the way. "Holy shit!" he cried.

He and the crowd that had gathered stood a moment staring at the giant robot that was now trapped by the fallen rubble. The robot was white and black, and it finally sunk in where he had come from. Officer Murphy walked forward cautiously, his hand on his sidearm.

"Is the girl okay?" the robot asked. His voice was actually sort of pleasant sounding, and cultured.

"Looks like bumps and bruises. You saved her life," Murphy responded, slowly taking his hand off his sidearm.

"Yes, good," the robot said softly.

Murphy put his hand on his head and gaped. "You were sitting there, hiding, for God knows how long -"

"Eight months," the robot added.

"Eight months?" Murphy asked incredulously. "Jeez . . . My captain is going to kill me." Then something occurred to Murphy as he took another step forward. "You broke cover after eight months to save that girl?"

The robot met Murphy's eyes. "Yes."

Murphy's panic started to subside. He'd been in a state of terror since seeing the building collapsing, but the robot didn't seem to be that dangerous. Hell, the robot had saved the girl, and he knew from the murmurings behind him that the robot had done it at the cost of his life. "You realize these people are going to kill you now?"

The robot took a moment to answer. "Eight months. I've been sitting and watching. Planning. Unable to do anything. I've seen so much confusion. So many things I could have done something about if I were able to break cover. My whole world is changing. Not sure who's in charge, or where we're going. But I've done the math on this planet. On all of you. And the numbers are _accurate _. . . But they're not _right_." The robot shook his head. "And this moment came where suddenly I couldn't worry any more about what might happen. Sometimes you just have to do the right thing anyway."

Murphy found himself really beginning to identify with the robot. In all of his years as a cop in New York, he'd seen so many things that he would have done differently. He'd also felt his world changing irrevocably in the months and years following the invasion. He'd been afraid of this robot when he'd first seen him, but as the robot had spoken, he'd felt a strange kinship with it. With _him_. Or at least . . . Officer Murphy thought it was a he.

Nonetheless, Officer Murphy had come to his decision. He grinned and nodded to the robot. "Spoken like a true beat cop."

The robot gave him a confused look on his strangely expressive face.

"Listen . . . I gotta call this in. But it looks like you're trapped, and this isn't an emergency. So I sure hope your buddies don't overhear and come and get you. Or that you manage to get free in the hour it's going to take Skywatch to get here."

The robot gave Officer Murphy a smile.

Murphy turned to the crowd. "Okay people, get back! Get back! Skywatch is on their way. Move along! This is a dangerous area now!"

As he watched the other people move away nervously after being reminded of how dangerous the robots could be, Murphy called in the disturbance and stated that backup was not necessary. The dispatch sounded unsure, but he reiterated that the robot was trapped and that it was near dead anyway. He knew that when the robot got away he was going to catch hell - maybe even lose his job if he couldn't convince his superiors that there was nothing he could have done.

"You have broken several police procedures Officer Murphy," the robot said softly.

"Yeah, well, I figure I owe you one for saving that girl," Murphy replied. He turned to stare at the robot. "What's your name? I heard you guys have names."

The robot smiled. "My chosen name is Prowl."

Murphy nodded. They waited in silence for awhile before he spoke again. "Thank you Officer Murphy."

Murphy didn't reply. He waited until a truck and a couple of cars showed up. In the safe shadows of the crumbled buildings around them the truck and cars transformed. Murphy made a great show of looking the other way while they helped Prowl out of the rubble. He didn't raise a fuss when they were gone, but when Skywatch arrived he showed off the acting skills he'd honed with a theater minor in college.

That night Officer Murphy returned home and the first thing he did was sit heavily in his recliner and sigh. He stared at the ceiling, wondering why he'd really just risked his career - and if those Skywatch baboons were to be believed, his freedom - for one of the robots. Sure, he'd felt the whole in-the-moment kinship thing with him at the time, but in hindsight that reasoning wasn't looking so great. "I guess it was just like the robot said, I did the numbers and it didn't add up."

"Add up to what sweetie?"

Murphy looked up to see his wife, Anna. "It's nothing honey."

"It is so something," Anna replied as she walked over and plopped herself in his lap. Anna was a tiny blonde woman with a huge smile. "You can tell me anything sweets."

He knew he wasn't getting out of it when she called him sweets. "I found out today that my squad car was one of those robot things."

"Oh my God!" Anna breathed. "Are you alright?!"

"I'm fine, I'm fine. The robot . . . The robot saved a little girl today. That's why he broke his cover as my car. To save one little girl. I asked him why, and he said that the numbers on it all . . . they were accurate, but that they were not right. The entire time he's been with me he's want to do something, anything to help, and he finally couldn't just stand by anymore. Anna, that robot was ready to sacrifice his life for one little girl. I didn't even get her name. But I got the robot's name. He calls himself Prowl, and he thinks like me. I guess that's what bugs me. We've believed that all of the robots are dangerous, that they're all deserving of death, yet here's one robot who thinks like me, talks sort of like me, and who risked his life for one of us. Five billion humans, and according to Skywatch's information, only a few thousand of them _in the whole galaxy_. He's right, the numbers don't add up, but he risked himself anyway."

Anna leaned over and kissed Murphy's cheek. "Then maybe we humans need to see past our anger and fear and learn about them. If Skywatch knows roughly how many of them there are in the galaxy then they must know which robots are deadly and which are not. I do not think that we should relax our guards and be nonchalant about them because there still have to be some that do not like humans, but I am open to the idea that some of the robots are good at heart, for lack of a better term."

"But why? Why stay on a planet that hates them all?" Murphy murmured.

"Maybe they have no where else to go. Maybe they want to atone. We may never really know," Anna replied sounding like the elementary school teacher she was.

"We should though. It's not right for Prowl to be slotted under the same heading as some of those murderous robots. It's like treating a cop who saved an innocent civilian like a criminal."

Anna kissed his cheek. "Perhaps you should look for people who feel sort of the way you do. Maybe you can change something."

"You may have something there," he replied smiling. "Come on, what's for supper?"

Officer Murphy continued on as before, but every day he thought about Prowl when he watched robots being hauled out of broken buildings in pieces. He thought about how maybe some of those dead robots had been the good guys. Rumors abounded after the end of the invasion of a band of robots who had fought the invaders. Had this robot been one of them? Had Prowl?

Uncertainty is like a virus, but sometimes the journey through the illness can make a person stronger. Officer Murphy made up his mind to not listen to the fear that ruled the human race and clouded their thinking. Evil did not infect an entire race. Even though the humans had seen the evil first, the good had still come to their aid. Murphy would wait for the day that his fellows would see that. He didn't have to wait that long for others to begin to see.


End file.
